When Magic Bleeds: Rise of the Mana Champion

Kael turned his head over his shoulder, sensing something different in the air — and then came the sound. An arrow sliced through the space between the trees and struck the ground at his feet, close enough for the impact to throw dirt onto his boots. He froze. There wasn't even time to take a full breath before another one tore through the air — too close. A sting in his left arm. Blood. And light — the spiral beneath the bandages now glowed with a silent fury, almost alive.

Elion had already turned, sword half-raised, eyes fixed on unseen points between the trees."Don't move," he said, low voice, precise.

Kael swallowed hard, ears tuned to the forest. Everything felt... alert."Did it come from ahead?" he whispered.

Elion shook his head slowly."The second one didn't." His eyes narrowed. "Behind us."

Kael turned his body back slowly, expecting to see something.But there was nothing. No shadows. No steps. Only the whisper of leaves.And the faint echo of something — or someone — retreating, unhurried.

The forest wasn't attacking.Not yet.

The sound of footsteps among leaves returned to being just that: sound.They said nothing for a while. Just kept walking, eyes scanning the shadows. The trail that had once seemed to dissolve beneath roots now reformed in winding sections, flanked by twisted trees like green ribs. Kael walked ahead, his arm still burning beneath the bandages.

That's when he saw it. Stuck in a trunk at the edge of the trail — a small dry branch, thorned, with pale flowers alternating along it. The wood had been bent into a subtle symbol, as if time itself had shaped it with patience and intent.

He stopped for a moment. His hand reached for the mark before he even thought about what he was doing."What a pretty design..."

He didn't say it aloud. He just felt the strange texture under his fingers. The thorns felt like dry velvet. The flowers… had no scent.He moved on.

About an hour later, he saw another. The same thorned branch with pale flowers, now curled at the base of a crooked root.He ignored it. Coincidences happen.

They walked through a more open trail, where light filtered more easily through the branches. The silence was still present, but less dense. The humming had stopped — or perhaps it had simply blended with the rustling of leaves and the steady sound of hooves on wet soil.

Kael looked at the horse walking steadily ahead, with Elion beside it."Hey," he said, half on impulse. "Doesn't this horse ever get tired?"

Elion let out a quiet laugh, without turning his head."No more than you, apparently."

"And you brought him down from the mountains?"

"No," Elion replied. "Found him in a ruined village at the foot of the Great Wall. He was injured. Barely standing."

Kael raised an eyebrow."The Great Wall… that? Just a pile of stacked mountains. And they call it a wall? No imagination on this continent."

Elion shrugged."It's the name. And you should be glad it exists. It was enough to keep certain things… on the other side."

"Right." Kael kicked a rock off the trail. "But back to the horse — you found him in a destroyed village, wounded, abandoned. You healed him. Fed him. And now he walks with you."

He paused, a smile forming."Wait a minute. Didn't you do exactly the same thing with me?"

Elion turned his face toward him with a neutral expression."The horse complains less."

Kael laughed — for the first time in hours."No doubt."

Farther ahead, the trail narrowed again. The trees twisted more wildly, and the air grew colder, as if the forest were holding its breath.

That's when Kael stopped. Not because of a sound or a threat.But because of what he saw — again.

There, between the intertwined roots of a bent tree, was the symbol. The same branch with thorns and alternating flowers, placed as if it had grown there on its own. Too natural to be manmade. Too strange to be coincidence.

"Elion. It's the third time I've seen this same pretty—" He cleared his throat, as if he'd spoken what he thought instead of what he meant. "Marked branch."

Elion stopped beside him, followed his gaze, frowned.

Kael nodded slowly."Three times. Always on the same side of the trail."

Elion approached the symbol but didn't touch it this time."Now it's starting to repeat."

"Doesn't feel like just territory marking…"

"No," Elion replied, serious. "It feels like it's guiding us."

Kael stepped to the side, glancing back the way they came. The forest felt denser now. More... alive."So what do we do? Ignore it and move on?"

"We do the opposite," Elion said, already pulling the reins to turn the horse. "Every time you see the mark, turn the opposite way. Always. It's the only way to reach Hollowrest without getting lost."

Kael gave the symbol one last look. The flowers looked slightly more open than before.And for a moment, he could've sworn the branch pulsed.

He followed Elion in silence. The mood from their earlier conversation had been swallowed by the thick air of the forest. The trail they now followed felt wilder — less a path and more a corridor between trees that grew too close, leaning in as if they were listening.

The symbols were gone.Which, somehow, was worse.

Kael scanned the surroundings. The light dimmed as the canopy closed above. Moisture dripped from branches, and birdsong was gone. The only sound was that of footsteps — theirs, and no one else's.At least, in theory.

The horse snorted, uneasy."He felt it," murmured Elion, without stopping.

"Felt what?"

"Someone. Or something."

Kael gripped the hilt of the dagger at his waist, eyes searching for movement between the trees."We're being followed?"

Elion stopped. So did the horse.Neither of them answered.Because in that moment, the silence changed.Not louder. Not heavier.More aware.

It was Elion who noticed first — a soft snap, like a dry branch under weight. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was already too late.

The arrow came like a whisper made to kill, slicing through the space between Kael and the nearest tree. By reflex, he ducked, and the arrow embedded deep into a trunk behind him.

"Left!" Elion shouted, drawing his sword.

Kael spun, but another arrow came from the right. He rolled on the ground, feeling wet earth cling to his clothes, and rose with dagger in hand.

The horse reared and neighed loudly. Elion pulled Kael by the collar, shoving him behind a thick trunk.

"I can't see any of them," Kael said, panting.

"They don't want to be seen," Elion replied, eyes scanning the canopy.

The third arrow came from above, landing inches from Kael's foot.But this time, there was something else.

The tip of the arrow was wrapped in a small amulet — a leather string tied to a shard of wood marked with a spiral.

Kael recognized the symbol. His mark. The spiral that burned in his arm. And as if it had been touched directly, the spiral beneath the bandages pulsed — glowing brightly, not like a beacon, but like a response.

Elion saw it."They know."

"Who are they?" Kael asked, his voice tight.

But Elion didn't answer.Because now, among the trees ahead, someone appeared.

Not stepping out from behind a trunk.Not emerging from hiding.Simply… there.

Hooded. Motionless. The forest's light didn't touch him, as if he were made of living shadow. And beside him, two more figures emerged.

No words. No attack. Just watching.

Kael's mark glowed so brightly now that the bandages trembled with heat.

And then, as if obeying some silent signal, the three figures vanished into the trees.Without sound. Without trace.

Silence returned.But the air — the air was no longer the same.

Kael looked at Elion."Was that a warning?"

Elion stared at the arrow in the ground, the amulet swinging gently from its shaft."No," he said. "It was an invitation."